Description

Nexuspresents the traditional rhetorical modes as different ways of thinking about our contemporary world, no matter the medium. It builds on students’ multimedia communication skills by using a mix of readings in contemporary and traditional genres to improve students’ college writing skills.

Nexus starts where students’ interests lie—with engaging essays, interviews, blog conversations, Web sites, and YouTube videos. These “readings” are presented in a lively, highly visual format that draws on the daily environment in which students are immersed, including electronic and visual sources that are stimulating, energizing, and directly related to topics they are studying.

While the format of Nexus is contemporary and stimulating, the content is substantive and pedagogically sound. Students are asked continually throughout this text to pull ideas from multiple media and respond to them first with critical thinking and writing and then by creating a project through a written, oral, visual, or electronic medium of their own choice.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Reading in Our Multimedia World

Rhetorical Modes as Patterns of Thought

The Reading Process

Prereading

Reading

Rereading

Reading Different Forms of Media

Reading Verbal Selections

Reading Visuals Selections

Responding to the Readings

Chapter 2 Writing in Our Multimedia World

The Writing Process

Prewriting

Brainstorming

Freewriting

Clustering

Deciding on Subject, Purpose, and Audience

Writing a Tentative Thesis Statement

Writing

Developing Body Paragraphs

Organizing Your Ideas

Writing the Introduction, Conclusion, and Title

Sample Student First Draft

Rewriting

Revising

Editing

Writing in Different Forms of Media

Chapter 3 Working with Sources

Finding Sources

Library Sources

Evaluating Sources

Using Sources in Your Writing

Types of Sources

Avoiding Plagiarism

Using Direct Quotations, Paraphrases, and Summaries

Introducing Your Sources

Citing and Documenting Sources

MLA Citation Examples

Sample Student Research Paper

Chapter 4 Description

Introducing Description

Discovering How Description Works

Reading Description

Writing Description

Choosing a Subject

Generating Details

Drafting a Thesis Statement

Producing a Draft

Revising and Editing

Revising

Editing

Sample Student Essay

Reviewing Description

Essay: “Raging Bulls,” Timothy Lavin

Cartoon: “The Ungooglable Man,” Roz Chast

Essay: “Plumbing the Depths,” Robert MacFarlane

Essay: “Magpies,” Amy Tan

Student Essay: “She,” Matthew Brooks Treacy

Vignette: “Hey, Look,” Simon Rich

Essay: “You Say God Is Dead? There’s an App for That,” Paul Vitello

Chapter Writing Assignments

Chapter 5 Narration

Introducing Narration

Discovering How Narration Works

Reading Narration

Writing Narration

Choosing a Subject

Generating Details

Drafting a Thesis Statement

Producing a Draft

Revising and Editing

Revising

Editing

Sample Student Essay

Reviewing Narration

Essay: “Rumspringa: Amish Teens Venture into Modern Vices,” Shachtman

Photograph: “Gas Station on Route 66,” Joseph Sohm

Essay: “I Will Never Know Why,” Susan Klebold

Essay: “We Found Our Son in the Subway,” Peter Mercurio

Essay: “After a Fall,” Garrison Keillor

Cartoon: “Academia,” David Sipress

Essay: “Only Daughter,” Sandra Cisneros

Chapter Writing Assignments

Chapter 6 Illustration

Introducing Illustration

Discovering How Illustration Works

Reading Illustration

Writing Illustration

Choosing a Subject and Audience

Generating Illustrations

Drafting a Thesis Statement

Producing a Draft

Revising and Editing

Revising

Editing

Sample Student Essay

Reviewing Illustration

Essay: “Body Piercing,” Raquel Kirsch

YouTube Video: “A Vision of Students Today,” Michael Wesch

Essay: “When Foster Teens Find a Home,” Anita Hamilton

Essay: “When the Car Is the Driver,” Steve Henn

Essay: “Women in Science,” Cara Santa Maria

Blog: “How Twitter Is Hurting Students Today,” Geneva Reid

Essay: “The Multitasking Generation,” Claudia Wallis

Chapter Writing Assignments

Chapter 7 Process Analysis

Introducing Process Analysis

Discovering How Process Analysis Works

Reading Process Analysis

Writing Process Analysis

Choosing a Subject

Generating Details

Drafting a Thesis Statement

Producing a Draft

Revising and Editing

Revising

Editing

Sample Student Essay

Reviewing Process Analysis

Essay: “How to Say Nothing in 500 Words,” Paul Roberts

Web Site: eHow.com

Essay: “Boyfriend Rentals Boom during Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day,” Kaijing Xiao

Essay: “How to Read a Painting,” Dustin Wax

Essay: “What Makes a Successful Business Person?” Murray Raphael

YouTube Video: “The Most Advanced High Speed Robot Used for Video Ever”

Essay: “How Target Figured Out a Teen Girl Was Pregnant before Her Father Did,” Kashmir Hill